New Evansville Rescue Mission opens

ERIN MCCRACKEN / COURIER & PRESS Malcolm McNamara, resident at the Evansville Rescue Mission, far right is thanked by Dan Grimm, chairman of the ERM Board, second from right, for giving a very personal and emotional speech about how the Rescue Mission changed his life and helps so many like him at the Evansville Rescue Mission’s grand opening of their new facility in the former VA clinic building at 500 East Walnut Street on Sunday afternoon. McNamara helped with the renovation of the building and transformed the space into a home for him and 160 men in need in Evansville. The new building will be able to feed close to 200 people for evening meals and house 160 men at night, which is a 30-40 percent increase from their old facility on Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.$RETURN$$RETURN$

EVANSVILLE COURIER & PRESS

ERIN MCCRACKEN / COURIER & PRESS Phil Heston, a longtime supporter and board member, center, gets ready with Tracy Gorman, President and CEO of the Evansville Rescue Mission, to cut the ribbon at the opening of the new facility in the former VA clinic building at 500 East Walnut Street. Heston was active overseeing the renovations, coming 3-4 times a week to check on progress and offer encouragement to the workers. The new facility will begin moving residents in on Monday and serve their first meal.

EVANSVILLE COURIER & PRESS

ERIN MCCRACKEN / COURIER & PRESS Mike and Emily Seibert check out the new kitchen and serving station at the Evansville Rescue Missions open house of their new facility at 500 East Walnut Street. The Seiberts help cook a meal once a month at the Rescue Mission and are excited about the new facility. " This is a big upgraded that hopefully will allow for us to feed more people," Mike Seibert said. He also hopes that the new facility can help more men in need in the community.$RETURN$$RETURN$

EVANSVILLE COURIER & PRESS

ERIN MCCRACKEN / COURIER & PRESS Jackie Zeimer, and Karen Skinner, nurses at the VA clinic, look at a room that sleeps 32 men as they take a tour of their old building which has been renovated and transformed in the new Evansville Rescue Mission Facility during an open house on Sunday afternoon. The women wanted a chance to see what was done with the old space and said the Rescue Mission did a beautiful job transforming the space into a home. The facility can sleep 160 men on a regular basis who will move in Monday morning. An additional 40 men can be housed on cots in the facility during extreme weather and other emergency situations.

EVANSVILLE COURIER & PRESS

ERIN MCCRACKEN / COURIER & PRESS Visitors check out the theater room in the new Evansville Rescue Mission at 500 East Walnut Street during an open house on Sunday afternoon. The room features stadium seats from Roberts Stadium and a big-screen television, which will give residents a place to relax.

EVANSVILLE COURIER & PRESS

ERIN MCCRACKEN / COURIER & PRESS A full house of people gather in the atrium of the Evansville Rescue Mission for its grand opening celebration of their new building in the former VA Clinic at 500 East Walnut Street. The residents will move into the facility on Monday and will serve its first meal that night.

EVANSVILLE COURIER & PRESS

ERIN MCCRACKEN / COURIER & PRESS The Grimm family gets a tour of the new fridge and freezer in the new Evansville Rescue Mission located at 500 East Walnut Street. Dan Grimm, Jr., center, who is vice chairman of the ERM board, is excited about the new facility. “It’s going to be great to see what we are able to do with the additional space and hopefully we can serve more people and touch more lives of those in need,” Grimm said.

EVANSVILLE COURIER & PRESS

ERIN MCCRACKEN / COURIER & PRESS Zac Craig, 16, tests out the Evansville Rescue Mission’s pool table in their recreation area during an open house of their new facility at 500 East Walnut Street on Sunday. Craig and his family who are good friends with Tracy Gorman, President and CEO of the Rescue Mission, came up from Livingston, Tenn., for the opening. “ When Tracy first showed me the building when they were looking into buying it, it needed a lot of work,” Todd Craig, Zac’s father said. “ I wasn’t sure it could be done, but Tracy insisted it was built for the mission and had a lot of vision for what it could be, and it turned out even better than imagined,” he said.